
FLS 

2015 

031382 




\0 ,r 7% 

♦ /N * 

°* V 

■ % J> ? -, 

° /O’ * 9\jmi£fa. . O* 



• ^ 4> . 

"JW 7 -* V ^ *» 



Aw^'\ 



v *w* v , 


* c* v/ \ 

V ^ 

< ,* V 



• • * * o • A * . I 

, t ' * * <£. Q ^ 



^o 4 



\ •- 




■j* S' ° 

>«* V * «? ^ . fcfBgV A^ ^ ° 0 

a & ^ '.:>' a <•. 

o 0 ^ -^°,:- ^°o .,^ % t*. 1 "*, ^ 


•>* r,0 % '!> ! KS". «K o 

•*% " ’' *° ,.. <>. * * »• ’ y % 

-\9 »i/w% ^ v *> T * °^ c 

* v ^ />* <• 


► a 




in «^> 


,0 'tv * 

- » 0 * te. "* 

' 0° *V % 


.*. ^-o* 


A '$> ” 0 N ° " .<?> 

y _ * * *, a. . \ v 


V' * T *°- 


.. V <*? ,1/i^v - 

.. » ;r:.^. 

* \yy^ ^ v 

,o' o 0 " 0 * O . i»• „ <s> / 

0 . \tf5KW. o > ♦ W??4- -t, C° 

. oV .gW^^yb* ^ <y 


*o . »- .0 




'O . » 14 .0 


•n-o 4 


, «5 °^ ■ 

' ' ts. v * 

* /i r O * 



* C*5 




\0 - 7 - 

%>'•■■-v.^V"’y.-^.v 

:'MMx \** ^ ' 

* <y •» 

t» 1- ’ A . 

aV O '«»•** ,0 

^ r^ a « % ,o^ c^s. -o 


O' o°_"°* O 


o 




! /k° <1^ ^ 

° ^ s s • 

* <y o 

s A 



V 4> , L / ^ 

> -t 



-J • .0 »/- * i^5? jVW\ n - A 0 

/^v - t////^ ^ A ^ ^ ^M\wr ' 

% *"’* A° '^ > *^* / _ -. 

-' C'. .0 r *> 0> .... ♦ 

^X’ v k\\ //I " C’ 

' w '®® t 


•^o 4 



\0 v\ 

rv ^L. *n 

< ^ V • 3 ^ ^ 

• / 1 JVV' ^ 


° ^ v 

• <S P o 4 

"oho* O 

r ,'••/» "> .v ..-•<*- 




V !* Y • O 

vr-V - " xxv 


<y> 

:S v/'. 









° t & <(, * * b i \**<1 

r. ^ ^ * ^P^ ' %<* :M1A'° V e ^ ,.* ^ 


a\^ <>' 

5 *'.. s* <V 

•'b A> 

° ^ *W, 

*o & : Mt +* j 

*° 



(J? 'S' 

* <$> ^ 


'S' 9 


o 

« v V<* 

* „ V "$•* ° ‘-f// »< 

« %W»* ^ ^ 

.0^ 0 '"». "*b " .*'■ ■<!■ 

c ° N* ,CW- -%, 

■*b i- -4 ^ 



• / *1 


° <C^ 

> iV ^ 

• <U o 

r * •*, ^ 9 m ° V . °* 9 

' "~ ' ^ V ,'4’s'. ^ ,J. V v^-jV* ** V 

%.«£ ^ .v^i 



T • 


w </\ : -lH- : /% ; . 

V *** ^ ... V '••’* ^ <U 


*£* ^ 
**V 


\r * sp ^ 

° • a * (y * 

^ Cj c 0 " ° •» "^o 

‘ • -r^N\ <* O 




























































REPORT OF 

The Administrali n of Freednuas Affairs in 
Louisiana , by 

J. S. FULLERTON, 

Bvt. B(iy. Gen. Vols .. 

While temporarily acting as Assistant Commis¬ 
sioner of the'Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, 
and Abandoned Lands for that State. 
WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 1865. 
































. 


El l S3 b 




/* 







. ' i 5 






























. V i -■ '■ 






- 








I 


• , 


















• ’ ll 




^ -i4r 








•V ..1 





















/ 




\ 












' - • u ' - • 

• ** ■ . 

. 

















* 







•' . 













♦ ‘ 









































4// 'C A , / v 



WAR DEPARTMENT, 

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 

\ i . Washington, December 2, 1865. 

'.Major General 0. 0. HOWARD, 

d Commissioner: 

Genera r,:—I have the honor to submit the following report of ray 
administration of the affairs of this Bureau, in Louisiana, while tempor¬ 
arily performing the duties of Assistant Commissioner of that State. 

On the 5th of October last I received Special Orders, No. 82, War De¬ 
partment, Bureau Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, of date 
‘October 4. 1865, directing me to proceed to New Orleans and relieve 
Chaplain T. W. Conway from further duty with the Bureau, and also 
to act as Assistant Commissioner for the State of Louisiana until the 
arrival of Brevet Major General A. Baird, when such duties would be 
performed bv him. 

In accordance with this order I at once left Washington for New Or¬ 
leans, and arrived there October 15. On the next day I relievel Chaplain 
Conway, and announced myself as Commissioner of the State, pro tern. 
*Tn addition to the instructions contained in the abovo mentioned order, 
1 was also verbally dircted to make such changes as I thought necessary, 
in'the manner of Conducting freedmen’s affairs in said State. 

Finding certain changes in the existing state of affairs necessary, I 

acted accordingly, keeping always in view the orders and instructions 
* 

which I had received, in spirit as well as letter. 

*“ As soon as I arrived in Louisiana I made it my first duty to become 
acquainted with the real condition of the freedmen, and the lernper of 
the whites, not only in New Orleans, but in all parts of the State. In order 

to arrive at the truth, I sought information from persons of every de- 

c, J ■ 

scription, white and black, in the city*, and on the plantations, and by so 
uoing I was able, I think, to form a correct judgment, free from bias, 
prejudice, or favor for any particular class. 

On the part of some agents there has been a want of tact, conciliation, 
and sound judgment. Their prejudices so blinded them that they could 
not properly approach the people with whom they had to deal ; and it 
appears as though they went to the south to foster dissension rather than 
to cure and heal. In many cases they have produced inveterate enmity 
between the whites and blacks, instead of bringing about the good un¬ 
derstanding and lespect that their mutal interests require. They would 
^ieden to.the story or complaint of the black man alone, refusing, to hear 


his white neighbor on the same subject, or, if they J'ul listen, with thy 
determination not to believe. 

1 found in many parts of L misiana there was an almost universal 
opinion amongst the freedmen that the plantations in the state would 
be presented to them by the G ivemment about next Christmas, and 
that they would be supplie 1 with mules and agricultural implements for 
the purpose of working the same. With such understanding, they were 
refusing to work during the coming year, or any part thereof. They 
would enter into no new agreements with the planters, at any price, or 
under any circumstances. This refusal was not so much on account of 
their disinclination to labor, as on account of the expectation that they 
would, hereafter, work only for themselves on lands of their own, the gilt 
of the Government. 

It lias always been my belief that the blacks will work better and pro- 
duce more as freedmen than as slaves, and I know that, in Louisiana, 
where 1 have fully investigated the matter, they will do so as soon as 
some false notions entertained by them in reference to their freedom 
have been removed. When they know that the Government will not 
support them or furnish rations an l clothing to the able-bodied who live 
in idleness, there will be such a revolution in the labor question of Lou¬ 
isiana as to cause all planters to rejoice that their slaves have been free !. 
While it is true that the blacks, in some parts of the state, are not work¬ 
ing as well as they might, and as stated,have refused entirely to work next 
year,they should not be blamed by their bitterest enemies.the poor whites, 
until they, themselves, set them a better example. It is hard for thy 
people of the south to separate the idea of slavery from labor. If labor 
were considered honorable, and the white man would work in the fields 
there would be no difficulty in procuring the labor of the blacks—this of 
course, when bad advice and impracticable notions are not given to them 
by evil disposed persons. While in slavery they saw the poor whites liv¬ 
ing without work, or on rented lands: they see the same now, and it is 
but natural tor them to expect a like state of ease and enjoyment. Tiio 
questions of labor, education, etc , so far as the former are concerned ary 

ns perplexing as those with which the Bureau must deal. But these are 
matters without our jurisdiction. 

It is necessary for cotton and sugar planters to engage their labor in 
time to begin to prepare the fields for crops by the first of the Xew- 
^ ear, and they must be sure of retaining laborers from that time until 
the crops have been gathered in the fall. Otherwise, planting is a 
dangerous experiment, for a lew days neglect of such crops, at certain 
seasons of the year, will cause their loss. 

■.For these reasons 1 found the planters greatly exercised in regard to 
the labor question.. The freedmen refused to work for tlum, and they 
were,-consequently, very despondent over the prospects of the coinin'- 


\3 


ye'af. v In view of these wide-spread and increasing false notions and 
expectations of the freed men, Mr. Conway, before leaving the Bureau, 
issued a Circular, informing them that they must not expect a gift of 
lands, and that they must go to work, making “all necessary arrange¬ 
ments, as soon as possible, to work for those who desire their services and 
are willing to pay fairly for them.” 

The evil hal progresse l so far that this Circular did not have the de¬ 
sired effect. Many of the freedmen did not believe that it was issued by 
Mr. Conway, and openly said that it was a “rebel forgery.” The case 
now required an immediate, it not severe, remedy. In order, therefore, to 
un leoeive the freedmen, and to encourage them to make contracts for 
work, for the next year, f issued a Circular, entitled “ An address to the 
Freedmen of Louisiana,” which informed them in as plain and 
forcible language as l could command, that the Government had made 
them free, and would *o the last defend them in that freedom, but would 
not support them in idleness and vagrancy, and that no class of persons 
would he allowed to live as vagrants in a country where there is a great 
demand for laborers. They were also informed that they would be com¬ 
pelled to perform their part of the existing contracts for labor made for 
them bv officers of the Bureau, unless such contracts were first broken 
by the planters. This was just, as these officers, by liens on crops and 
otherwise, compelled the planters to pay the freedmen their wages. The 
rule should work both ways ; what was fair.for one was fair for the other. 

The foregoing is the substance of said address. The necessities of the 
ease required that it should be issue I thought it to be of the utmost 
importance that the freedmen should work during the coming year, not 
■only for their own benefit, but for the good of the planters and of the 
country at large. It is also necessary that they should do so in order to 
give the denial to the prophesy of these friends of slavery who continually 
insist that the negro will not work if free. The result has proved that 
the address was timely. I ordered that it should be read on each planta¬ 
tion in the State, and that printed copies of the same should also be left 
thereon. Many of the freedmen. having been thus plainly informed of 
what was expected of them,soon showed a disposition to work under con¬ 
tracts for the next year, ami the planters, acting under the belief that the 
evil complained of would, in a great measure, no .onger exist, at once 
commenced to engage their services. The scarcity of labor, and the large 
profits that can be male on the crops of Louisiana, have caused a great 
demand for labor in that State. All of the able-bodied freedmen. if they 
will consent to work, can obtain employment at good wages, and there 
w ill still be room for many more laborers. Many planters called on me 
during the last week of my stay in the State to obtain information as to 



4 


Low and where they could obtain hands, and offered for them good in¬ 
ducements. I could not direct them where to go for this purpose, but 
some went to Texas and some to Mississippi, 

In my administration of freedmen *s affairs in Louisiana, I acted upon 
the broad, democratic idea that there should be the same code of laws for 
oil j that every exceptional law or regulation for the black man is but a 
recognition of the spirit of slavery. The steps that I took were necessary 
to annihilate the distinction of that caste which sprang from slavery. 
Laws of the State made to govern the white man, while the freedtnan 
was in a state of slavery,surely could not be too hard upon him when freed 
( nnd admitted to the benefits and penalties of the same. But there were 
•men who had such a tender regard for the freedmea that, while they were 
willing that they should accept the benefits of State laws, cried down as 
an outrage any attempt to render him liable to the penalties of the same. 
Thus when I attempted to show officially that the freedmen could be 
arrested as vagrants, or apprenticed, in accordance with the laws that 
were equally binding upon all free persons, these men were ready to ex¬ 
press great indignation at the wickedness and enormity of such proceed¬ 
ings. The idea was constantly held out to the freedmen that they were a 
privileged people, to be pampered and petted by the Government. The 
effect was most pernicious. It not only gave them expectations that 
could not be realized, but prevented them from securing civil rights that 
.the laws of the State conferred upon them. , . 

If also appeared to me that there whs not a sufficient effort made in 
<this State to harmonize capital and labor. The acts of a few local agents 
iff the Bureau were such as to destroy the confidence that should exist 
drefween those planters who Were endeavoring to give free labor an impar¬ 
tial trial and the freedmen who worked in their fields. These acts were 
done through'a mistaken notion of kindness to the blacks. 

VAGRANTS. 

. A few days after my arrival in New Orleans, Captain Morse, the Pro¬ 
vost Marshal of the Bureau, for Louisiana, and who had for some time 
been acting in that capacity on thestaff of Mr, Conway informed me thaE 
there were a large number of vagrant negroes in the city, able-bodied, 
healthy persons, who came from the country, and who, if not put to 
work, would soon bo a charge on the Bureau. lie requested me to ask the 
tChief of City Police to arrest these persons and deliver them to him, in 
order that they might be cared for. This I at first refused to do, as I did 
not' wish any officer of the Bureau to make arrests of whites or blacks,or, 
if it could be prevented, to be instrumental in having arrests made. I 
was afterwards, informed that it was the duty of the City Police to arrest 
ail vagrants white and black, amd that they did.not,arrest bUwk.yagran.t^ 



.5 


through fear of tho Bureau official?, the Bureau alone having control of 
such cases. Upon this information, I then wrote to the Chief of Police 
requesting him to have all freedmcn in the city who were “without any 
means of support and are vagrants arrested and sent to Captain Morse, 
Provost Marshal of the Bureau who will secure for them employment and 
means of support during the coming winter.” The Chief directed his 
subordinates to carry out my request. So energetic were the; in the per¬ 
formance of this duty that nearly all of the vagrant blacks,and many who 
were not vagrants, were brought before Captain Morse within two days 
after the order was issued. This order was not carried out in good faith, 
and as soon as it was reported to me that men who were not vagrants 
were being taken up, I at once revoked said request, and directed tho 
Chief of Police to make no more arrests. Ihis, I believe, was on the 
second day after the order was issued. All of the vagrants brought before 
Captain Morse were well provided for, and placed in such positions as to 
enable them to earn a support. 


COLONIES. 

I found in Louisiana Oaree-ov four colonies of freedmcn. These colonies 
were conducted by detailed officers of the army and citizen employees. 
The aggregate number of persons in all four was 391 infirm adults and 359 
Children. The plantations on which these were situated are-cultivated by 
a large number of able-bodied freedmen at the expense of the Bureau. I 
sent an officer to each colony and plantation for-the purpose of making 
o thorough examination, and to report upon the condition of the same. 
From him I learned that they had been miserably managed. One colony 
or plantation, from the proceeds of the crop, will nearly pay expenses, 
but the others are not self-supporting, and wi 1 be a heavy charge upon 
the Bureau. The Medical Director of tho Bureau for Louisiana also 
icportcd that, owing to his inability to procure proper medicines, attend- 
£ nee, and supplies, the mortality among the freedmen has been great.— 
These circumstances taken together with the fact that all of said planta¬ 
tions. sa\ e one, will probably soon be returned to the owners thereof, in 
?c ordance with 3 'Oir Circular No. 15, led me to determine to break up 
all colonies, save the one on the plantation that would probably not be 
restored, and to move upon this all of the infirm and helpless, dismiss¬ 
ing all supernumerary and unnecessary agents and employees. A great 
expanse would thus be saved to the Bureau, and much mortality and im¬ 
morality prevented. This change had not been completed when General 
Baiko arrived and relieved me from duty as Assistant Commissioner. 

_ ' ^ 

ASYLUMS. 

‘ There were in Now Orleans two Asylums for orphans of freedmcn.— 




6 


One in the Soule mansion, an l the other at the corner of Fourth ami 
Chesnut streets. These were partly supported by the Bureau, having 
been furnished by it with quarters, rations, clothing, and a small amount 
of hospital supplies, and the orphans were under control of the Assist¬ 
ant Commissioner of the Bureau, “ guardians of orphan minors of 
freedmen within their respective districts.” A few days after I assumed 
the duties of Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau for Louisiana, I vis¬ 
ited the As 3 'lum on the corner of Fourth and Chesnut streets. There I 
found a state of affairs which, to say the least, was decidedly unsatisfac¬ 
tory. There were about thirty inmates, mostly boys, some of whom were 
from 12 to 15 years of age, an 1 were able to work and take care of them¬ 
selves. These orphans were being biought up in idleness and ignorance. 
Their only occupation appeared to be to lie around in the warm sunlight, 
and to play marbles. Such articles as wash basins, toweis, combs, <&c., 
usually kept in all well regulate 1 Asylums, were wanting, an 1 
from the general sanitary condition of the establishment it did not sur¬ 
prise me to learn that disease was prevailing among the children. While 
making my visit, one of the orphxtis was called out to the gate to see his 
father. A few days before, a mother brought back her orphan son to the 
Asylum, and occasionally giving him a blow with the strap in her hand, 
told him that if he ran away again she wouln “ skin him alive !” This 
mother, I was told, owned property in the city, the rent of which was 
producing her an income. It is due to the manager of this Asylum to 
say that she was in no manner whatever responsible for its condition, 
having arrived in New Orleans and taken the control of it but a few days 
before. She is a woman of true principles and good heart, and was ns 
much provoked as I at the manner in which it h >d been conducted. Had 
she possessed the means, she would soon have made a change for the 
better. The next day I issued an order stating that the orphans in 
these Asylums would be apprenticed by the Assistant Commissioner of 
the Bureau to pood and responsible j^rsons, in order that they might 
be properly cared lor. and acquiro habits of industry and morality. The 
contracts of apprenticeship were to be made in accordance with the law 
of the State, and the same laws that governed in the apprenticeship of 
white children would govern in this case. 1 did not consider this a gieat 
hardship, nor did I think it was, in any manner, reducing the orphans to 
slavery, notwithstanding the complaints of some supposed friends of the 
freedmen. I issued the order as “ guardian of the orphan minors of 
freedmen ” in Louisiara. 

The effect of my action was to break up the institution on the corner 
of 4th and Chesnut streets. In some mysterious manner the orphans 
disappeared. Some of them went to the other Asylum, some were taken 
care of by benevolent persons, and a few, 1 suppose, went to their homes. 


I 


The day after the “ Apprentice Order '* was issued, Madame Louise Dr 
Moktiru called at my office, and informed me that the Asylum at the 
Soule Mansion, of which she was Matron was partly supported by char¬ 
itable Societies of the North, and that if the order were withdrawn so 
tar as it was concerned she would make arrangements to conduct it free 
of Government expense. I at once agreed to this proposition and with¬ 
drew the order so far as it extended to her charge. I did not visit this 
Asyium. but was informed that it was properly conducted. Afterwards, I 
issued a general Apprentice Order to cover the case of all orphans of 
freed men in the State. This Order provide 1 that “ The agents of the 
“ Bureau may make with goo 1 an 1 responsible persons agreements of 
apprenticeship or service for the minor orphans of freedmen. But 
" they shall not have the power to bind or apprentice minors whose par- 
“ cuts are living, without the consent of such parents. The agreements 
“ or contracts must provide that iit return for the service to be rendered 
“ by the orphans so apprenticed or bound, they shall receive comfortable 
“clothiug, board, m tdical treatment, when sick, a reasonable amount of 
“ schooling, an 1 permission to atten l church each Sabbath. At the end 
“of the term of apprenticeship, or service, they shall be allowed to re- 
“ tain all of their articles of personal apparel. All of such contracts 
“shall expire, for males when they are eighteen, and for females when 
‘•they are fifteen, years of age.” 

The coutr.cts are to be submitted to the Assistant Commissioner of the 
Bureau for approval. It was also ordered that they should be made in 
accordance with the laws of the State, so that if tft any time the Bureau 
should be withdrawn from Louisiana, the proper civil officers might, for 
proper legal reasons, enforce or annul them. 


Aid RESTS AND Fid EE DM EX’S COURTS. 

The next step taken by me was to direct that no more arrests be made 
by the officers ol the Bureau, and to abolish those tribunals of special 
jurisdiction known as Freedmen's ( ourts. I thought it better that,in cases 
where arrests were necessary, the officers of the Bureau should call on the 
military officers in the vicinity to take cognizance of the matter. By so 
doing, justice would be equally obtained, and a dis igreeable feature re¬ 
moved from the Bureau. There are men in the Bureau whose prejudice 
in favor of the black race go so far that they can hear only one side of a 
c unplaint, and wh >se zeal leads them, in many instances, to use the power 
of arrest that has been committed to them, to the great detriment not only 
of the white man but also of the black. Wherever a wrong is done the 
white man, the result is to create in his breast a proportionate hatred of, 
or enmity towards, tiie blacks. These office*s escaped ail ill effects of such 
action except personal abuse, but tin* black man suffers otherwise. 

By virtue of the laws of the State of Louisiana, both under the new 


8 


constitution and the old code, all free persons, without regard to color, 
are admitted in the State Courts. The black man has the same rights in 
these courts as the white. He can sue and be sued, and his own testimony 
can be taken in all cases, whether the parties to the suit are white or 
black. In this respect, the laws of this Southern State are very liberal. 
Such being the fact, I directed that all “freedmen’s courts’’ in the State 
of Louisiana be abolished, and that the cases then pending in the same 
should be transferred to the civil courts. I also ordered the Provost 
Marshal and agents of the Bureau to appear in court in all cases where 
either freedmen were bringing suit or being tried, as their attorney or next 
friend; that they should bring suits for them when necessary, and defend 
them when tried. These officers were also prohibited from interfering 
in any manner with the proceedings of civil courts. In cases, however, 
where the civil authority refused to offer relief to the freedmen, or refused 
to receive their testimony or hear their complaints, as they are bound to 
do by law, it was ordered that the matter should be laid before the near¬ 
est military commander, who would make arrests or take such action as 
the case required. The establishment of these exceptional tribunals, in 
places where the laws of the State admit the freedmen in the courts on 
the same footing as the whites, is one of those cases which recognized 
the spirit of slavery and the caste that sprung from it. It is treating 
the freedmen as a separate and exclusive class, for whom a distinct set 
of acts and regulations must be made, and it admits that they cannot 
be governed by the same rules and live under the same laws as the whites. 
The freedmen, also, become strongly impressed with the idea that they 
are a peculiar people, having nothing in common with their white neigh¬ 
bors, and learn to consider themselves either superior or inferior to oth¬ 
ers of like intelligence and property. It is said by some that fieed men's 
courts are necessary in Louisiana, because even though the law admits 
them in state courts, the judges will refuse their testimony and, even if 
they do not, they cannot there obtain justice. Why do they say so when 
the attempt to obtain such justice is not made? The law guarantees 
them a civil right, and if it is wrongfully refused they should contend for 
it. If they do not do so now, the law may become a dead letter on the 
statute books. It is far better that, a few should suffer from the injustice 
of some state courts than that all should not be allowed to testify and 
sue in the same. Judges and juries do not always render decisions that 
are supposed to be just by both parties to suits. When men’s interests 
are at stake they often err in judgment. The fact appears to be over¬ 
looked by the freedmen and their friends that, in many cases, as great in¬ 
justice is done to the white man in the “ freedraen’s courts” as can be 
done to the freedmen in “ white men’s courts.” Frcedmen’s courts are 
necessary for the protection of the blacks in those States where they are 


9 


not allowed to testify, even though they miy be productive of abuse ami 
injustice when presided over by improper persons. 


CONTRACTS. 

Before being relieve l by General Baird, I issue 1 an order directing the 
agents of the Bureau to instruct the freedmen, within their respective dis¬ 
tricts, that they should then commence to make contracts to work for the 
co ning year. I also set aside all of the mutifarious and cumbrous 
rules, regulations, and instructions that had been heretofore observed in 
making such agreements, and left the whole matter subject only to the 
simple laws of supply and demand. There is a large demand for labor in 
Louisiana, and good contracts can and will be made by the freedmen. I 
did not do the injustice to their intelligence to take it for granted that 
they did not know how to make a bargain or agreement, to stipulate how 
they should be paid and when. If not improperly interfered with, they 
will we’l take care of such matters, and it will be time enough for the 
Bureau to interpose when it is d'seoverel that the freedmen are suffering 
imposition and wrong in this regard. Nor must it be supposed that they 
do not know how to take care of what they get. It may surprise some 
persons to hear that while the poor whites of the S*ate were almost penni¬ 
less, scarcely a b’ack, who w-as-tiot^i vagrant, can be found who b^edmot 
a small roll of lawful currency in his pocket. 

For other reasons it is not well to fix the price of labor. In some parts 
of the State there is a greater demand for labor than in others, and there, 
of course, better wages would be given. What can be paid in a particu¬ 
lar locality is the price to bargain for. There is no danger that the freed¬ 
men will ask too little for their services. In some cases they wish to 
work for a share of the crops, in others, for money, and if they are 
allowed to make their own terms, there is much more probability of their 
living up to the contracts It has been remarked in my presence by in- 
teliigenr blacks: ‘*We are not free. You say that we have to work for 
certain wages, in certain places, and for certain persons. Let us make 
our own bargains ” 

All that is necessary under my order is for the freedman to agree with 
whomever he may choose, upon conditions under which the work is to be 
performed; have a written contract drawn up, and then submit the same 
to an^agent of the Bureau within the State for approval. This is neces¬ 
sary, as, in some cases, free linen who cannot read might be imposed upon 
by the terms of the written instrument. 

CLOTHING AND RATIONS. 


I am not able to report the number of refugees and freedmen to whom 
clothing and rations have been furnishc l by the Government, but it is not 
large. The reports that have been heretofore forwarded to the Head- 




10 


quarters of the Bureau arc correct as far as they go, but they n °f ac * 
count for those to whom supplies have been furnished by the ini.itarv 
authorities. A correct and complete report can be made by General Baird 
by consolidating the Bureau report with a statement of the amount sup¬ 
plied uy order of the Department Commander. 


SCHOOLS. 


In Louisiana there are one hundred and forty-one schools for freedmen, 
and attending them are nineteen thousand scholars. These schools have 
been supported in whole by funds of the Bureau. There are employed 
Twelve Directors at a joint salary of - $1,225 per month. 

Three Special Agents at a joint salary of - 300 “ 

Five Clerks.470 

Twelve Principals - - - - 1.350 

Twenty-eight 1st Assistants - 2,0.SO 

Thirty 2d “ ... 2,070 

Eighty-nine primary teachers - 5,310 

City Superintendents of New Orleans - 1.50 

One Acting Assistant Superintendent - 100 


a 

cc 


Added.to the above are two members of the Board of Examina'ion, 
who receive five dollars per day' while on duty, and eight janitors who 
receive each from ten to twenty-five dollars per month. There are also 
several officers connected with the schools who draw salaries as officers 
in the military .service. The cost of conduct ing these schools is now be¬ 
tween seventeen and twenty thousand dollars per month. 

So long as there were plenty of funds on hand, and it was easy to levy- 
taxes, there was no endeavor to make them self-supporting. I found 
that the expenses of the Bureau were so large, and the income was grow¬ 
ing so small, that there would, probably, be no funds in the exchequer by 
the latter part of January next, even for paying the civilian agents and 
employees of the same, and but little more could be advanced by it for 
school purposes. It was, therefore, apparent that, unless the schools 
were put on a different, footing, or received assistance from other sources, 
they must soon be discontinued. I informed Capt. Pease, the Superin¬ 
tendent, of this fact, and asked him to submit to me a plan to render 
them self-supporting, but nothing was done in the matter up to the time 
I left the State. 

The wealthy black people of New Orleans an l other parts of Louis¬ 
iana refused to do anything for this cause, because, as they say, they 
pay a general school-tax, ail ol which, by law, goes to the support of 
schools for the whites. Although there is .n injustice in so appropriat¬ 
ing thorax paid by them, I did not see the foice of this reasoning. IF 
they desire their children to be educated, they should do something to- 


11 


wards supporting the schools, even though they unfairly paid twice for 
it, 4--thought- thntjfhe idea-that the general government will support 
schools should be held out no longer, unless there is a prospect of 
some legislation on. the subject, f If I have been correctly informed, 
the proportion of the school-tax paid by the black people of the city 
of New Orleans amounts to over forty-thousand dollars per annum. I 
represented to his Excellency, the Governor, and several of the leading 
members of the new legislature, the injustice of appropriating this tax 
exclusively tor the benefit of white schools. They fully agreed with me, 
and promise 1 that at the next meeting of the legislature of the Stale 
they would have an act passed appropriating ihe tax paid by blacks, 
exclusively, for freedmen’s schools. Since commencing this report. I have 
received a copy of Governor Well’s message, and I am glad to say that 
he recommends to the legislature such action. One of two things must 
soon be done in reference to these schools in Louisiana. Either they 
must be conducted on more economic.il principles, and made in part, at 
least, self-supporting, or they must be discontinued. No funds were be¬ 
ing advanced for the support of freedmen’s schools by the Quartermas¬ 
ters Department, at the time I arrived in Louisiana, but they were sup¬ 
plied, as stated, with means from the common fund of the Bureau. This 
fund was collected 1st. from rents of leased estate which was held by the 
Bureau as abau loned lands; 2d. Fines and Fees; 3.1. Poll Tax ; 4th. 
School tax. Since the publication of Circular No. 10, War Department, 
Bureau of Refugees, Freed men, and Abandoned Lands, much of the real 
estate that was held by the Bureau in said State bias been restored to the 
owners thereof, not having beeu abandoned in the meaning of the law, 
and some has been restored to owners who had been pardoned by the 
President. But a small income will be derived hereafter from estates 

remaining in possession ol the Bureau. Not near enough to pay the 
sa’aries ot the civil employees of the same. 

The fines were such as were imposed by Judges of Freedmen's Courts, 

and the fees were collected as charges on bonds, etc. By General Orders, 
No. 23, Headquarters Department of the Gulf, New Orleans, March 11, 
1865, it was ordered that a Poll Tax be levied as follows: “From each 
planter, for every hand employed by him between the ages of eighteen 
and fifty, two dollars per annum. From each hard, between the same 
ages, one dollar per annum. This sum was to he payable and to be col¬ 
ic jted on the first day of January following, and the amount collected 
was to be appropriated ‘“for the purpose of reimbursing to the United 
“ States some portion of the expenses of this system (the labor system 
“ inaugurated by said General Orders.) an l of supportin ' the aged, infirm, 
“and helpless.” Up to the 1st of November last there was collected of 
this Poll Tax $39,501 44, all whigh went into the Fxebecquer of the 
Bureau.- 


The origin of the school tax was as follows : On the 22d of March, 
1864, Major General Banks, then commanding the Department of Louisi¬ 
ana, ordered that a tax be assessed upon the people of Louisiana for the 
support of schools of freedmen for one year; but it was not collected. In 
order, however, to support these schools, which were at onceNnaugurated, 
there was advanced by the Quartermaster's Department from the first of 
May, 1864, to the 30th of September, 1865, $237,699 20.^01’ this sum, 
$158,229 70 were funds raised by an assesment on the Corps d'Afrique. 
cotton tax, &c., and $79,469 50 were Quartermaster’s funds proper. On 
the 24th of July last, in answer to a letter received from Mr. Conway, the 
Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau for Louisiana, you wrote to Major 
General Canby, then commanding the Department of Louisiana, request¬ 
ing him to enforce General Banks’ School-tax Order lor the purpose of 
procuring means to repay said advances made, by the Quartermaster's 
Depart .ent. On the 7th of August following Mr. Conway also requested 
General Canby to enforce said Order. General Canby at once turned the 
matter over to Mr. Conway, directed him to proceed with the collection 
of the tax, and offered him military assistance for that purpose. The 
amount of tax levied in the State by virtue of this Order was $228,307 50. 
The collection was commenced and proceeded with until I was informed 
by the collector that it would be impossible to collect more without using 
military force to imprison persons, or to seize and sell property. Many 
persons, though possessing real estate, had not the money to puy the tax, 
and many refused to pay, as they contested its legality. Tins statement 
of facts I telegraphed to Washington, and asked for instructions as to 
whether I should proceed to collect the remainder of the tax bv military 
force. The reply was, not to continue the collection at that time, and I 
at once suspended it. Forty-two thousand dollars of this tax had been 
collected, buL maS - of this sum was set aside for the purpose of reimburs¬ 
ing the Government for advances made through the Quartermaster’s De¬ 
partment. It was all paidoutfor freedmen s schools, and on other Bureau 
accounts I do not suppose the Assistant Commissioner for Louisiana 
will ever be able to repay this sum, or any part thereof, unless some new 
way is devised for procuring funds. 

OFFICERS ON DUTY AT HEADQUARTERS. 

I found on duty at the Headquarters of the Bureau two Majors, five 
Captains, eight Lieutenants, and two Chaplains. Two of these officers 
were in the Medical Department. As there was a great necessity for offi¬ 
cers in the interior to act as Agents, Provost Marshals, <tc., I determined 
to reduce the establishment so that it might be conducted by not more 
than four officers, together with the Assistant Commissioner, and to send 
the others to the interior. As I was not in Louisiana long enough to 




13 


make all the changes desired, T left this matter in the hands of Major 
(ieneral Baird, after sending off some supernumerary officers and em¬ 
ployees. 


COMPLAINTS OF CORRUPTION. 

Loud complaints had been made by the citizens of New Orleans of the 
corruption of some of the employees at the Headquarters of the Bureau 
in that city. I inquired into the matter, and found that they were not 
made without some grounds. Wishing to elevate the tone of morals, and 
to discourage the loose way of transacting business, I dismissed one of 
the chief clerks for accepting bribes from citizens. I was told that, not¬ 
withstanding this weakness, it would be well to keep him for a while, as 
he was a very useful man in giving information as to the loyalty and 
status of citizens who made application for the restoration of property 
hcl 1 by the Bureau. 


CONCLUSION. 

1 believe that the freedmen of Louisiana are in a better condition 
than those in any other State embraced within the operation of this 
Bureau. There is not amongst them an able-bodied man who cannot 
get employment and good wages. The planters of the State are very 
desirous of restoring their fortunes by cultivating tho fields, L trge 
profits can be made on the staple crops, and for this reason they can give 
good wages. The freedmen generally know this fact, and will not there¬ 
fore work for a pittance. More than a majority of them obtained em¬ 
ployment last year, when but a small portion of the fields were cultiva¬ 
ted, and we have but to consider the fact that the most of the planters 
now desire to raise sugar and cotton, to form a judgment of the demand 
for labor for the coming year. Before tho war, Jour hundred thousand 
(400,000) hogsheads of sugar, and an equal number of barrels of molas¬ 
ses, were made in Louisiana. This year’s crop of cane will not yield 
over twelve thousand (12,000) hogsheads of sugar and four cen thousand 
(14,000) barrels of molasses. Then nine-tenths of tile arable land of 
Louisiana were under cultivation, in cate, cotton, and coin ; this year 
there has*not been over one-fifth. It was impossible for me to arrive at 
anything like the proportion of acres that will be planted the next sea¬ 
son : but, as there is nothing now to fear from the accidents of wa-, there 
will be a large increase over tho proportion of last year. 

There is a growing disposition on the part of the planters to act justly 
and fairly towards the freedmen, and to secure to them the exercise of 
their legal rights. This may be because they know that their former 
slaves are now free, and that it will be impossible again to reduce them 
to slavery, in any shape or form, that they arc the only sugar and cotton 




14 


workers that they can at present procure; and that it is necessary to 
secure for them such rights in order to make them willing and competent 
workers. They arc also showing a disposition to allow the freedmen 
those opportunities of educating their children which they have not 
heretofore possessed, for it is becoming evident to them that free labor 
flour ishcs^mJrm those places where schools abound. The enmity against 
the black race, in the South, eomes principally from the poor whites; 
those of them, who do work fear the compction of black labor, and nearly 
all of them having before them the fear of “ negro equality,” do what 
they can to oppose their freedom and the working of the free labor sys¬ 
tem. But the war has not left enough of this class in Louisiana to exert 
any considerable influence. 

It is not true that there are great numbers of freedmen being murdered 
by the whites in Louisiana. During the month that I remained in the 
State but one case of this kind was presented to the Bureau, so far as 1 
now recollect. This was the case of a freedman who had been shot and 
wounded by a white man, and the offender, when arrested, claimed that 
the freedman had first fired at him. That there are many cases of out¬ 
rage that are never heard of is most true; but from all that I have learned, 

I do not believe tint society, in this respect, is more demoralized at 
present in Louisiana than in some states farther north, as represented 
by the public press. By telling only the bad acts that have been com¬ 
mitted, and giving these as an index of society, any large community 
could be pictured as barbarous. These remarks are not made in any 
manner apologizing for that class of whites who have so little humanity 
as to abuse and maltreat the black man because he has been freed: but 
I cannot make an impartial report of facts unless I show both sides of 
the picture. We must look at the matter as it exists, and not give-way (' 

to one set of complaints only, nor allow our preconceived opinions and 
prejudices to blind us and prevent us from correctly exercising our 
judgments. 


1I0W LABOR WILL BE A SUCCESS IN LOUISIANA. 


The only concern the planters at present appear to have on this ques¬ 
tion, is: “will the freedman fulfil his contract for work, if we fully and 
fairly carry out our part of the agreement?” They will not work next 
year as well as we may desire, but better than we have a right.to expect. 
Men who have been suddenly freed, entertaining some Tulare notions of 
freedom, and in some cases acting under bad counsel of both friends and 
enemies, are not apt to be at ouea energetic workeis. Gradually the plant¬ 
ers and freedmen begin to understand that, for the present, each is depend¬ 
ent upon the other. The planter must have their labor, and the freedmen 
must have the planters wages until they can procure property of their 


M B 



3 . 






15 

own. I speak advisedly when I say that in five years from now, unless 
some new element of discord intervenes, the freedmen will work as well, 
and be in as prosperous condition, as any person can desire, and the ri«h 
and beautiful plantations of Louisiana will be far better cultivated and 
more profitable than ever in the past. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. S. FULLERTON, 

Brevet Brigadier General Volunteers. 



























































« v^> 

. * V % 

<G o 

0 . * L A ♦ O ^ o ° w ® * * * 0 ^ 

♦ _ 1 



%, '*•*«’ A 0 ' 

c\ > 0 ^ 

• ^ / * 

J'V’ 



s ^ 2 > ^ 

♦ k/ 

*> • < > • ,•?? 

'' ’ °' -* v 1 .<■» o 

* ■" - "o ^ A' 4 ’ / 

, v^> : rr : 

* ^ ^ • 




0 'U 

0 1 


* 

« 

) 

9 


•9 

O 

Zo ** 

O 



< ur . 0 * <? . 

j* ° - * 

v* :\ 


0 ^ 

? < 1 * o ^ ^ rt 0 r\ ^ 

"> v'V^\ ,,, / 1 

. V^a* _• jgS&j'. <v, ^ .’ 


**A 

C vT> * 

.V JV 0 

A> o 



1 • o 


’ A'-'A - 

/ ** ^ • 


* 




*° A - 

V*"’ ^ -- ™ 

'*: ' :'gm w 

* ^ c, ^ * i/^yK^k 

C-> \T* 0 

^ Jr 0 ♦ 

L ,* ^ ” r A r ^ *G O 'c . ^ * 4 

• -** o 0 °J 0 « ^ ^ L < . ^ A 

** <N «, c^xSXYtWJb *i» 0 > idPV?^7 * 

_«*.-, • i -o < -m&&‘ «bv* : 

•Hlf^ . 0 * 

1 *. < ~^f^/Jj*^ ♦ (O «r ik^U\\ v\S^ * v <>* * 

^ * <1 ♦ O ^ \\Vr * r\ 

A. v ' <i> B < 1 <\ v O * „ „ ■> A ct* 

O. . A ’ _ v • o <^\ ' . . -7> ~ 

>;o>. '.,. ,. v ^ .0' .«••- '"> 







. C, vP 

,<b' A ° 

, ^ O O . i - r v > 

t * \L°. * _ 0 0 “ ° ^ ’< 

>1 <, 


\ c > ' • * ‘ .0* ’o , <r.T' 1 IA 





°^7v\ 



. t < a 




0 o 


\ 








O' 

/ 4?X \ 

*V- < > - . . 

C> r. 0 W © „ \$> 






O A 0 °"°^ 

O j t> • , ' 

-of .* 


O ~ o r/^ 

I S./ •' 




4*- - » c» - - ^ -I 

o . ' o . „ * A ^ 

_ A ^ C°“ ^ 

O j O' 

^O v* % 

<0> w. ,V ^ o aO V*. v tf 1 

<3r ° 0 o 0 ^ A 

- % 4,0 .*,*•- > s> ,«••. "o 

V :'|§fe: W* ;Ji%: \/ 

> '0.1*-^ ^ y + ^ 

»i» , v * • • * .o o o • i * A 

O ,.o-«„ %S>. ^ aV 



o M o 


,0 


JW‘ ** v % 


o v . • 1 '-* 



C 0 " ° 4 '<*> 

-O / • 



* <>? viX O 

■ ■' 

A ' • • * . G O " O 

<£ . p.v L / , <A. 

0° SLtffrL? °o 

^ 0^ 'LMivmP * ^ 

Al I CV v f r•^*i 

- o 0* 4-0, 

* * v -s- -MiPr” cO^ 

\<v vEJE^* v ^ 


° iP vf, 

o V"W.' o' ^ 

^ *•-’ V *...•■ # 

0 *!,*°' > v' 

Or <» -=t- ^ .‘ 

a 

' A <v *y~vf* (? * 0 ■ 

^ ,0^ "b. 

N A ^<nN\\V4. a *v . Vj ^ af>jY?9-^ - ^ 






yW. : f 






?W 








^ * < 7^^ID^ / N "9*^ ^ 

nP ^ .{V 

0 %> ' ' ■> * V 

> V s* 

► J * •v /. i 

4 / DCBBS BROS. 

LIBRARY BINDING 


O 
°-t- 

' % 

\ J> • 

J'V . 

.v^. : 

*+ ^ ^ ■ 
ouow> O ' o , k * A 

_^pgjjn^ FLA. . *■ ' * ^ c> <4>' c 0 w c 4 ^. 

WS^-kis 32004 ■* * '$vvA\h^V^ *X. 


:?( EB 74 


ST. AUGUSTINE 


























































































